In 1964 my earlier biography of Jones, Oriental Jones, was published. Intended to replace the previous, unsatisfactory biographies, it was a some-what sketchy narrative. It lacked the necessary historiography at that time on the intercivilizational encounter between Britain and India, as well as the experience from extensive travel and residence in India needed to appreciate the cultural situation in which Jones found himself. Although I did use Jones's manuscript letters at Althorp, the lack of annotations precluded my using them fully. My later Letters of Sir William Jones (1970) made available all of his letters known at that time, but many of them were unknown in 1964 and more letters have turned up since 1970. Indeed, six previously unpublished letters are included in this new biography.

His correspondence overall reveals such a confiding, articulate man that it is now possible to trace his life in minute detail and to know his ideas, motives, and aspirations. Moreover, the Manuscript Proceedings of the Asiatic Society detail his association with that innovational group that he founded in Calcutta, and the contemporary London and Calcutta newspapers provide additional information. Also, new, scholarly insights have appeared in numbers of specialized studies since 1964, including studies from the bicentenary celebrations of 1984 and 1986. Many of these are listed and annotated in my Sir William Jones: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources (1979).